Written by: Ivey Ingalls-Rubin, Staff Writer

Spray on skin is reality.

A prototype medical device has turned the science fiction notion of spray-on skin to a reality. This device literally sprays skin cells directly onto burn victims and enables the body to re-grow skin. The traditional methods like skin grafts were far more invasive and took weeks and sometimes months to heal, whereas this spray gun takes only about an hour and creates less scarring while using less skin.

Though this device is still technically in an experimental stage, it has already successfully treated dozens of burn victims. The way in which it works it quite astounding. The spray gun uses a swath of stem cells from a patient’s healthy skin and mixes them with a small amount of skin that has been broken down by enzymes. This concoction creates a solution that is in turn sprayed directly onto the burned area of the victim.

This spray has already been approved in Europe, Australia, China and Canada, but the U.S. is yet to jump on board. Recell is the Australian product, and it is under clinical testing on 106 patients at 15 locations in the U.S.  The testing began in May 2010 and is funded by the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine.

This form of skin treatment has the potential to save lives as well as decrease a patient’s length of stay at a hospital and the number of operations they need. The skin that is healing after the spray is also smoother and more regular looking than the results of a skin graft.

To learn more about this amazing breakthrough, please follow the link below:
WARNING: Graphic Content:
National Geographic